ABSTRACT
This chapter synthesizes the volume’s key themes and findings, exploring the entanglement of religion and nationalism through symbols. It discusses how religious symbols have been repurposed for national narratives and sacralized within religious contexts. It emphasizes the importance of distinguishing „sacredness“ as a socially constructed reverence from religious holiness, illustrating how figures and events have been elevated to untouchable status. It highlights the pivotal role of the Middle Ages and WWII in shaping collective memories and identities and questions how the relationship between nationalism and religion might evolve amid secularization and demographic shifts in the region. Finally, it suggests that broadening the geographic framework and incorporating perspectives from religious minorities and non-Christian groups within Eastern Europe could deepen our understanding of these evolving dynamics.
